Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a severe anxiety disorder that can develop after exposure to any event that results in psychological trauma. This event may involve the threat of death to oneself or to someone else, typically overwhelming the individual's ability to cope. As an effect of psychological trauma, PTSD is less frequent and more enduring than the more commonly seen acute stress response. Diagnostic symptoms for PTSD include re-experiencing the original trauma(s) through flashbacks or nightmares, avoidance of stimuli associated with the trauma, and increased arousal—such as difficulty falling or staying asleep, anger, and hypervigilance.
Posttraumatic stress disorder is classified as an anxiety disorder, characterized by aversive anxiety-related experiences, behaviors, and physiological responses that develop after exposure to a psychologically traumatic event (sometimes months after). Its features persist for longer than 30 days, which distinguishes it from the briefer acute stress disorder. These persisting posttraumatic stress symptoms cause significant disruptions of one or more important areas of life function.
Although most people (50-90%) encounter trauma over a lifetime, only about 8% develop full PTSD. Vulnerability to PTSD is believed to stem from an interaction of biological diathesis, early childhood developmental experiences, and trauma severity.
A variety of medications has shown adjunctive benefit in reducing PTSD symptoms, but there is no clear drug treatment for PTSD. Positive symptoms (re-experiencing, hypervigilance, increased arousal) generally respond better to medication than negative symptoms (avoidance, withdrawal), and it is recommended that any drug trial last for at least 6-8 weeks.
Medication classes that have been used for symptom management include: SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, such as citalopram, escitalopram, fluoxetine, fluvoxamine, paroxetine, and sertraline); anti-depressants (such as, bupropion, venlafaxine, sertraline, fluoxetine, nefazodone, heterocyclics, and paroxetine); alpha-adrenergic antagonists (such as prazosin and clonidine); anti-convulsants, mood stabilizers, anti-aggression agents (such as carbamazepine, zolpidem, lamotrigine, valproic acid, and buspirone); antipsychotics; atypical antidepressants (such as nefazodone and trazodone); beta blockers; benzodiazepines; glucocorticoids; heterocyclic/tricyclic anti-depressants (such as amitriptyline and imipramine); and monoamine-oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs). Medication classes that have been used for symptom prevention include: alpha-adrenergic antagonists; beta blockers; and glucocorticoids.
A direct correlation has been observed between low growth hormone curves at onset of sleep and sleep problems in PTSD. (See, e.g., van Liempt, Decreased nocturnal growth hormone secretion and sleep fragmentation in combat-related posttraumatic stress disorder; potential predictors of impaired memory consolidation, Psychoneuroendocrinology (2011) 36, 1361-1369).
It would be desirable to provide a nutritional supplement for treating post-traumatic stress disorder.